Shaykh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, Chief Shariah Officer and Board Member

yusufd@shariahcap.com

Shaykh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, Chief Shariah Officer at Shariah Capital, is a scholar of Islamic Transactional Law whose 30 year career was featured in an August 2007 front page story in The Wall Street Journal. Based in the Washington, DC area, he has served as a Shari’ah advisor to dozens of international financial entities, including index providers, institutional investors, home finance providers, international investment banks and a variety of asset managers.

Shaykh Yusuf is the author of the three volume Compendium of Legal Opinions on the Operations of Islamic Banks, the first English/Arabic reference on the fatwas issued by Shari’ah boards. In addition, Shaykh Yusuf wrote the introduction to Islamic Bonds, the 2003 book that introduced Sukuk and transformed the world's Islamic capital markets. His work has appeared in academic and industry journals and as chapters in books, including Euromoney's Islamic Asset Management (2004), Islamic Retail Finance (2005), and Islamic Finance: Innovation & Growth (2002). His entries on the terminology of Islamic finance appear in The Oxford Dictionary of Islam.

Shaykh Yusuf is often featured as a key note speaker at conferences and seminars worldwide. He was a special consultant to the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank on their joint project for the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB). Shaykh Yusuf is a member of the Council of Scholars, ISRA, Central Bank of Malaysia and a member of the Governing Council of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) in Malaysia. Shaykh Yusuf recently was appointed a member of the Shariah Board of the Accounting and Auditing Organization of Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).

Shaykh Yusuf served as Advisor on Islamic Education to the President of Pakistan from 1981-1984. His career has also been noted in The Financial Times, The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, The US News and World Report, Newsweek, CNBC, Conde Nast Portfolio, The Middle East Banker, and others.